Epernay, Manchester Airport

IF YOU WANT to go on holiday, chances are you’ll have to go to an airport. It’s where the planes live, for a start.

‘It’s actually pleasant, especially if you’re flying long haul, to find somewhere to relax in the airport with a nice glass of wine, champers or beer and settle in with a newspaper. In this respect, Epernay is a haven.’

Apart from that, there’s often little to look forward to about the whole process, which involves several conversations about liquids and gels, having to get undressed at a conveyor belt, and preparing to be ripped off for a horrible all day breakfast and a pint of pap lager.

Manchester Airport, it has to be said, has improved its retail offering hugely in recent times. Now the food and drink element of Terminal 1 has taken a step up, with the opening of a new Epernay champagne bar.

Located in the left hand corner of the concourse, after the main drag of shops, Epernay is a pretty looking addition to the existing mix. It mirrors the look of its city centre sister on Watson Street, plenty of dark wood, leather and twinkly lights.

We’d been invited across to give it the once over, and first impressions were good.It’s actually pleasant, especially if you’re flying long haul, to find somewhere to relax in the airport with a nice glass of wine, champers or beer and settle in with a newspaper. In this respect, Epernay is a haven.

It was great to be able to order half a dozen good-quality oysters (£9.95) and a bottle of Billecart-Salmon (£46) too – your holiday does start at the airport, so you might as well go the whole hog. The food was impressive – we tried the minute steak (£8.95) and the beef bourguignon (£7.95), which were several levels above a reheated sausage and twangy bacon rashers.

Then came the cocktail making course. Yes, you can do that here too, which is a far better way to while away time than wandering aimlessly through the terminal in search of a travel-sized bottle of something-or-other.

We made four drinks – Kir Royale, Mojito, Cosmopolitan and an Old-Fashioned – then drank them too. The only hardship will be making sure you don’t get too tipsy to get on the plane, although I always find sunglasses and a strong mint help on that front.

Epernay can be good fun and offers something a bit different, but above all else, it’s a very nice bar in a place where there isn’t much else to speak of. Terminal 1, prepared for a bubbly take-off.